The Raiders touted it as a New Era of Excellence when they changed out another coach and hired a general manager this year.

More Raiders Hooey would’ve fit on billboards and media guides, too.

The Raiders went 4-12, their worst record since their ’07 team went 4-12 four coaches ago.

“I don’t think we’re a finished product yet,” rookie head coach Dennis Allen said after Sunday's 24-21 loss to the Chargers, “but I do think we made progress.”

In the final nine games, the Raiders went 1-8, so if they made strides, we’ll have to take Allen’s word for it.

Say this for the New Era of Excellence, year one: The Raiders weren’t as moronic as they were in 2011, when they set an NFL record for penalties.

“A thousand football fields” was how Raiders backup quarterback Terrelle Pryor described the cost of those yellow flags on Sunday.

Allen’s first team whittled 44 percent off the '11 total, even after drawing nine flags in the finale.

“We have to continue to do the same things that we’re doing and the same things that we believe in,” Allen said. “We have to try to get the right people. We’re looking for guys that love football, that are willing to work, and that want to put the team first.”

Sunday, the Raiders (and Chargers) each lost a player to an ejection, but that owed to an official’s quick thumb, not on-field thuggery.

If nothing else, Oakland’s final performance kept observers from nodding off, if only because Pryor, making his first NFL start, was a rare study in contrasts.

Think of him as Cam Newton Lite, although there’s a large gap in the two’s passing skills.

Pryor (13-for-28, 150 yards) threw several weird wobblers, one of them a late toss to the end zone that Quentin Jammer tipped and intercepted.

Yet because he ran past even fast defenders and stiff-armed or shrugged off even big tacklers, he created enough havoc to unsettle the Chargers, though San Diego never trailed.

Comparing the 6-foot-6, 230-pounder to Newton, the Panthers’ quarterback who played in San Diego two games earlier, Chargers safety Eric Weddle said Pryor is as fast or faster.

Pryor threw two TD passes, ran a bootleg for six points and averaged 5.4 yards in nine rushes. With his run threat and ad-libbing creating headaches for Pagano’s men, Oakland converted on 53 percent of its third downs despite its passing game's lack of sophistication.

Pryor, drafted in '11, had taken part in only seven plays before Allen announced on Friday he'd start over veteran Matt Leinart for Carson Palmer (ribs). It’s expected that Palmer, 33, will be Oakland’s starter next year, even though he’s 8-16 in the job.

“I look forward to possibly playing next year and getting better,” Pryor said.

Allen said the 23-year-old “earned a chance for us to evaluate him some more and see where he’s at. I thought it was a good first step in that direction.”

Talking to reporters, Pryor was chatty, expansive, self-critical -- and still very excited an hour after the last play.

“Like I told you guys before, I will be great at the quarterback position, but I have to just let things slow down for me,” he said, and it sounded less bold than it looks.

“We’ve got to go out and work hard, and make you guys write some good things, and we’re going to come back strong next year, I promise you guys that.”